Improvement in button-hole sewing-machines



` 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. B. BARTRAM.

Button Hole Sewing Machine. No. 62,520. Patented March. 5, 1867.

f n No. 62,520.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. VB. BARTRAM..

Button Hole Sewing Machine.

Patented March. Y5, 1867.

mmf. @L 254ML UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W. B. BARTRAM, OF NORWALK, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN BUTTON-HOLE SEWING-MACHINES.

specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 62,520, dated March 5,18'67.

To all fwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALKER B. BAETEAM, of Norwalk, in the county ofFairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Sewing-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, in which- Fignre 1 is a side elevation ofa Willcox t Gibbs sewing-machine with my improvements attached. Fig. 2is a plan view of the table of' the same.. Fig. 3 is a plan view of themachine with table removed. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the bottom of theswitch-bar and jogbar. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the switch-bar andjog-bar. Fig. 6 'is a plan view of the clamp-plate. Fig. 7 is an edgeview of the same with the parts in position. Fig. 8 exhibits two methodsof moving the table-plate in a direction at right angles to the movementof jog-bar.

My invention relates to that class of sewingmachines which produce azigzag stitch by means of mechanism which imparts to the material beingstitched a lateral reciprocation, at the same time that it is movedforward by the ordinary feed; and it is shown in this application asadapted to the well-known Willcox dt Gibbs sewing-machine, though I donot wish to be understood as confining myself in the use of theseimprovements to machines of that precise construction.

For convenience, the word cloth will hereinafter be used to designateany material which may be stitched upon my machine.

That others may understand the construction and operation of myimprovements, I will particularly describe them.

Fig. 1 represents a Willcox St Gibbs sewingmachine, the stitchingmechanism of which is unchanged. My devices attached thereto are for thepurpose of producing a lateral reciprocation of the cloth in addition toits ordinary forward-feed motion, and to hold the cloth in position uponthe table while moving laterally.

To produce the lateral movements of the cloth, I cause the table E, uponwhich said material rests, to reciprocate, by means of a switch-cam, A,placed upon the main drivingshaft ofthe machine, a switch, B, andswitchbar C, attached to a jog-bar, D, which extends from one edge ofthe table E4 above the driving-shaft, as shown in Fig. 1.

The switch-cam A is a cylindrical block having a cam-groove, a, out intoits face. This groove a passes twice around the cylinder A, and forabout threefourths of the distance in planes parallel to each other, andat right angles to the axis of the driving-shaft. Within the remainderof the distance it crosses itself', as shown in Fig. 1, so as to makethe groove continuous. If, now, the switch B, which is a piece of metalwith a diamond-shaped horizontal section, and concave longitudinallyupon the face which rests upon the cam A, be pivoted to the switch-barC, and then placed in the cam-groove a, it is evident that the -switchand switch-bar will be moved in the `revolution, the-switch B will restin one of the planes referred to, and will then be suddenly transferredto the other by the oblique portion of the groove; then, during the lastfourth of the next revolution, it will, in like manner,.be suddenlytransferred to the place of beginning.

In order to transmit this intermittent motion of the switch to-the tableand cloth, it is only necessary to connect the table and switchingapparatus together, and this 'is accomplished, where the feeding-dogOmoves in a direction at right angles to the line of the driving-shaft,through the medium of a jog-bar, as at D, rigidly secured to the table,and when the ordinary feed is not at right angles to the driving-shaft,by the addition of a rock-shaft, or any of the well-known devices forchanging the direction of rectilinear motion. Two methods are shown inFig. 8.

In the Willcox dt Gibbs machine, the feeding-dog O moves in-a directionat right angles to the axis of the driving-shaft, and as the materialbeing stitched is moved forward by said dog, it will also be movedsidewise by the jog-bar, so that the needle will pass down through thecloth at a point at one side ofthe line in which the previous stitch wasmade. As the dog 0 acts again, the jog-bar will move the cloth sidewiseagain, but in a direction opposite to its former sidewise movement, andthe result of these two movements or less, as required. This purpose isaccomplished as follows: The switch-bar Gis pivoted at its outer end Gto the end and lower side of the lateral arm F, which projects from theside of the jog-bar just over the switclr cam.' Its swinging motion uponthe pivot G is regulated, in respect to the jog-barVby a set-screw, H,which is inserted through a toe upon the outerend of the jog-bar, insuch a manner that the switch-bar, as it moves in one direction, willcome in contact with said screw, and at every movement in the oppositedirection it will come in contact with a shoulder, I, formed on thejog-bar opposite to the screw H.

It is evident that theswitch and switch-bar must move the same distancelaterally at every revolution of the switch-cam; and if the distancebetween the fserew H and shoulder I be less than the extent of thismovement, then the jog-bar will be forced to yield and be moved by theswitch-bar at every reciprocation made by it; and that the less thedistance between the screw H and the shoulder I, the greater will be themovement of the jog-bar, because it will be moved through a larger partof the movement of the switch-bar.

By moving the screw H in or out, the distance betweenthe shoulder I andthe end of said screw is diminished or increased, and the lateral lengthof the stitch is controlled.

The shoulder I always brings the table E to the proper position to causethe needle to strike through the line Which forms the edge ofthebutton-hole, (or over the edge, if the slit be cut before stitching,)and the stop formed by the end of the screw H determines.

the distance of the outer edge of the row of stitches from theedge ofthe slit or buttonhole; or, vif the stitching is done for the purpose offelling, it determines the distance of one edge of the seamsfrom theother.

The peculiarity of button-holes preferred for shirt-bosoms, Sto., is thesquare or barred ends produced by carrying the thread from the outeredge of the row of stitches on one side of the button-hole to the outeredge of the row of stitches on the other side of the same, thus makingthe end stitches twice the usual length laterally. This double throw ofthe plate is repeated two or three times, giving the button-hole asquare finish at the ends, which is considered very desirable.

It is preferable that the operation of barring should be under thecontrol of the operator, so that the button-hole may be terminated andthe bar worked. at any moment, which could not be done by automaticmachinery without rendering it objectionably complex.

When the bar is to be made the speed of the machine should be slackened,and at the proper moment the forward feed is stopped by raising thelever of the eccentric feed-controller J as high as possible. At themoment of stopping the feed, the operators finger is placed upon thespring K and depressed. Attached to the lower side of the spring K isthe wedge shaped stud L, which, when the spring K is depressed, isprotruded through a hole in the jog-bar, and its wedge-shaped endinterposed between the switch-bar O and the shoulder I, so that theoffice of the shoulder I is for the time performed by the stud L, andthe jog-bar is during that time moved as much farther than usual as thedistance the face of the stud L is in advance of the shoulder. Thisadvance should be sufcient to double the throw of the jog-bar, andsometimes a little more, so that the needle will passl from the outeredge of one row of stitches to the outer edge of the opposite row. Thisgraduation is attained by means of the stopscrew M, which permits moreor less of the wedge L to be thrust in front of the shoulder I, and.therefore, determines with the utmost exactness the-increase of thethrow of the jogbar.

When the screw H is set, the screw M should be set to correspond.

The stop-pin N is placed in one of a series of holes provided for it inthe frame of the machine, so as to determine the movement of thefeed-controller J, and enable the 'operatorto return the controller tothe proper point without difficulty after ithas been raised up to stopthe motion -of the feeding-dog 0. The feeding-dog O is pivoted at itsrear end R to the feed-bar P, so that while its front end isreciprooated back and forth in the ordinary manner by the feed-bar P, itmay also move upon its pivot R in obedience to the reciprol eatingmovements of the table E and jog-bar D, and while the material beingstitched is moved back and forth laterallyl by the switchcam andjog-bar, it is also moved forward by the feeding-dog 0. The jog-bar iskept down in position by means of the fork Q and pin S, which passesthrough the ends of the fork and beneath the Amain shaft. The plate Eisretained upon the bed-frame of the machine by the screws T T, which passthrough slots in said plate and into the said frame, but are not screweddown so tight as to obstruct the plate in its reciprocations.

It is sometimes necessary to use some kind of movable frame or guide.This is particularly required if the stitching is to pass over the clothin a line oblique to the direction of the threads, or if the goods besuch as draw, as stoekinet. The clamp which I employ for the purpose,and which is exhibited in this application, consists in a plate, U, thecentral portion ofwhich is cut away, as shown in Fig. 6. The serratedplates V V', the latter of which is adjustable, are attached to the twosides of this opening in the central part of the plate U. Thestretching-slide W, of which side and end views are seen in Fig. 6 at wand w,

x is tted to slide between the serrated edges of i V and V', and clampthe cloth between them, as is shown in Fig. 7, the edges of W beinggrooved for the purpose, and the plate Y being adjusted according to thethickness of the material to be secured. When the cloth is to bestrained and clamped it must be so placed that the position of thebutton-hole to be worked shall be exposed through the slot X. Throughthe plate U are two narrow slots, Y

" Y, in line with each other. When the plate U is placed upon the tableof the machine for the purpose of stitching a button-hole, it is placedso that the two pins Z Z shall stand up in said slots Y Y, and act asguides for said making a zigzag or herring-bone stitch upon cloth whichhas much body or stiffness no other` appliance will be required than theordinary guide and presser-foot, unless an implement such as the hemmeror feller be used to turn the edge of the seam.

In stitching eyelet-holes a cylindrical guide is placed upon the tableand passed through the .center of the eyelet. The regular action of thefeeding-dog O causes the cloth to revolve about this guide, while thestitching'mechanism stitches a circular row about its center.

If the eyelet is cut before stitching, the cylindrical guide should belarge enough to fill before cutting, then the guide may be a simplepointed stud, around which the cloth is caused to revolve.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

l. Reciprocating the plate E on a straight line at right angles to theline of movement of the forward feed by means of the switch-cam A,switchvB, and jog-bar D, constructed, arranged, and operating as and forthe purpose set forth.

2. In combination with the sewing mechanism of a Willcox & Gibbssewing-machine, the switch-cam A, switch B, arm C, jog-bar D, or theirequivalents, and the plate E, for the purt pose set forth.

6. The feeding-dog 0,' pivoted to the feedbar, as described, incombination with the reciprocating plate E, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

7. The guide-plate U, in combination with the straining-slide W and theserrated plates V V', substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

WALKER B. BARTRAM.

Witnesses HENRY B. FAN'roN, HENRY B. FAN'roN, Jr.

the hole so cut; but if the stitching is done

